2024 The Waltons: Racing & Training Thread (Read 148 times)

HCK - Disorganized races can be a real pain, but I'm not surprised that it went relatively well for you.  I've occasionally had oddly good results when rushing at a race.  Maybe all that stress before the race pre-loads your body with adrenaline so you're all set to go?

James - I'm glad you had a good 5k (i.e. were pleasantly surprised).  I know the feeling about not being ready for a goal race.  Just try to enjoy the event.

Watson - This being Thursday (for me), I hope your calf is OK by now.

Mark - Congratulations on 2nd Masters and winning your AG!  I agree, after training all winter/spring (or summer/fall in your case) for longer races, doing a 5k can be refreshing because of the chance to run fast.

mmerkle - What kind of temps are you running in these days?  Just curious.  We've had some pretty wide swings here with some day's hitting 80º and others not getting above 55º (27/13C), making it hard to acclimate.  At least the mornings, when I usually run, have been more even, though we've had a mix of moderate and high humidity.

Steve - I love it when workouts go so well they increase your confidence (and that was some workout too, on Saturday).

My week was decent, but I was tired by the end.  With the back-to-back races the previous weekend and the repeats on Wednesday, my legs were tired by the weekend.  Seeing the cool weather, I was hoping to break out of my rut at ParkRun, where I'd run 25:26 for three runs in a row.  In a way, I met my goal, but not the way I wanted, when I ran 26:36.  I'm taking some extra rest days this week, as I write, due to some soreness in a tendon high on my hip.  I'm hoping it's nothing more serious than a little over-use.  35 miles/56km for the week.   I'm still hoping to race a 10k on Sunday (and keep ahead of my son).  Unlike the 15k two weeks ago, with it's hills and varied surfaces, the 10k is probably as flat as you can get without being on a track and is 100% paved.

Marky_Mark - belated congratulations on a fantastic race!  I really enjoyed the report.  I laughed at this: "After a few years of being told that people don’t want technical stuff in road courses, and just want to run fast, I guess Athletics NZ finally got the message"

James- I'd be very happy with that time, given where you are right now.

Half-Crazy-  a 5K with no warm-up is an exercise in frustration.

Watson- I hope the calf clears.

Fredford - I hope the hip tendon clears - at least, if you run the 10K, flat will be easier on it than hills.

James - Nice week and good luck for the race.  It's great to see little mention of niggles!

Fred - Thanks!  Good luck in the 10km.

My week - This week had more of a focus on the steady runs in zone 3 over a long period.  Yesterday went really well, with 2 hours in the danger/cramp zone, just slightly slower than all 3 marathons up until the cramp hit.  I covered about 25km with no issues and feeling really comfortable.  I did a sweat test too and was surprised I only lost 2.6kg, albeit in 6 degrees celsius (43F).  The Precision Hydration calculator says I only need 300ml per hour based on that, and race day is likely to be colder.  I'll probably keep it at around 500-600ml of Precision 1500 drink.  The coming week looks like similar mileage but cutting back the long run and more of a speed focus.

Weekly for period: From: 06/05/2024 To 12/05/2024

<caption>Weekly Grid</caption>

Totals: Time: 08:44:50 - 🦅Imperial: 63.35 mi - Metric: 101.92 km

MMErkle - are you doing the Lighthorse track meet?

Steve - nice week!

***

40 miles running; 15 "miles" pool-running.
M: 9 "miles' of pool-running.
T: 9 miles, including a track workout of 2x800, 1600, 800, 2x200 in 3:24, 3:24, 6:48, 3:18, 48, and 48. Recoveries of 2:4x-2:5x after the 800s and 5:30 after the 1600; full recovery for the 200s. Followed with leg strengthwork.
W: 9 miles very easy (9:22) and upper body weights/core.
Th: 6 miles very easy on trails (10:13) and streaming pilates.
F: 9 miles on the track including a 6400m tempo in 28:21 (7:16/7:10/7:01/6:54) followed by leg strengthwork.
Sa: 7 miles very easy (9:20) plus drills/strides, followed by streaming pilates.
Su: 6 "miles" pool-running.

Not too much of note here - just track workouts on Tuesday and Friday. I turned 50 this week, so I intentionally kept the weekend light on training so I could focus more on social stuff.

Yay new age group.

My right calf is good now.  I started back Thursday and ran the last four days of the week fine.

Nice weeks all.

Steve - I'd go with 500-600ml per hour for the race.

Weekly for period: From: 06/05/2024 To 12/05/2024

Totals: Time: 04:22:30 - 🦅Imperial: 29.02 mi - Metric: 46.69 km

Running is Back 10k - 5/12/24

This race is basically two similar loops around a part of Liberty State Park in Jersey City, with great views of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  I'd run three 10k races here before with the same course map as was posted for this race, including my 10k PR back in October of 2022.  My son also signed up, running his 4th 10k, and second one in Liberty State Park.  The forecast was for high 40's (9C) with rain, though how heavy the rain would be was unsure.  It turned out we got lucky with the rain as it was moderate when we picked up our bibs about an hour before start time, but then eased off for the race so that though there was a light rain, it was of no consequence and we were both comfortable in shorts and t-shirts.  (The rain got heavy while we were driving home).

We went to the start area and I picked a distance back from the start line that seemed appropriate based on other runners around us, but as usual DS was shy and wanted to start further back.  I went with him so DW could hang out with both of us (and take both our raincoats right before the start).  We began pretty close to on time and, as I feared, the people ahead of us were running more slowly and also 2- or 3-across on a 6' (2M) wide park path.  To get around them, I ran in the grass alongside the path (and it turned out DS did too, reaping what he'd sown for both of us).  My plan was to run an 8:30 pace to start and if I was still feeling good after 4 or 5 miles I'd try to speed up.  DS didn't tell me his plan, but less than ¼ mile into the race he passed me and gradually pulled further and further ahead.

The loop is generally south/north, with the southbound leg a little inland and the northbound leg right on the Hudson River, which was fortunate since it meant we were slightly protected from the wind blowing from the south when it was a headwind and got full benefit when running north.  The wind was not enough to be a serious issue in the race, but enough that we felt warmer when turning to run with it at our backs.  My first three miles went pretty well, at 8:25, 8:30, and 8:22.  Near the end of the first loop, I was reminded that the last part of the loop, and the last part of the race, has the most turns and thus is the hardest part on which to maintain an even pace.

We turned to start the second loop and I was dismayed to see it would begin just as the first loop had - the certified course, and the posted race map, have the second loop going out a bit further to the northwest before turning south than the first loop does.  Other race organizers have been careful to steer runners properly, but the RD for this event apparently either didn't study the map or was too lazy, so from about mile 3.1, I knew the race would be slightly short.  This is annoying, though I knew I wasn't going to PR anyway, and I tried to put it out of my head.  It really bothers me when organizers post a certified map and then don't stick to it.  Their race becomes a lie.  The worst part is with the bigger organizations there's usually nobody onsite to bring this up with - the volunteers and local staff are just following directions.

Anyway, southbound on the second loop and I was starting to feel tired.  The sharp pain at the top of my pelvic bone that I had experienced for a while wasn't an issue, but I had a general, diffuse ache/fatigue in my whole right hip and upper leg.  I finished mile 4 in 8:28, but by the end of it I was going slower than that.  Miles 5 and 6 were struggles to keep my pace under 9:00, especially during the turns and weaving in the last 0.3 miles, where you can see the finish line across a small inlet of water, but have to run all the way around the inlet to get there.  I ran 8:59 in mile 5 and 9:03 in mile 6.  I crossed the line in 53:05.7 (meeting my goal of getting at least a 60% age-graded result) and saw DS coming back towards me having grabbed a bottle of water.  He finished about two minutes ahead of me having also faded in the second loop, but getting a new personal best nevertheless.  My watch showed I'd run 6.16 miles (vs. the 6.21 that a 10k should be) and while I'm the one usually arguing around here that there's a margin of error in GPS watches, knowing that the course cut a corner I'm pretty sure it was short and inexcusably so.

For many hours, the results site showed gun and chip time the same, even though the 5k, which started 10 minutes later, had chip time right away.  My results changed a bit more overnight.  As of writing this, I was 99/453 overall, 75/225 males, and 7/21 in the M50-59 age group.  That puts me in the top quarter overall and top third in age group and gender.  I'm pretty happy with that.  Since I wasn't going to PR, the short course wasn't an issue in the end since I could measure myself against other runners.  DS got a PR, and given it was more than 1½ minutes better than his last, I'm sure he would have gotten a PR even on a properly marked course - he'll just have to work a bit harder to beat this new PR.  In the end, I'm disappointed that I faded in the last two miles and frustrated at the continuing problems with my right hip, but given everything else I am happy with how the day went and proud of my son for notching a new best.

Fred - Thanks for the race report, sounds like a pretty solid outing even with the slight fade.  Also very annoying that the course was incorrect!  It's very distracting mid race when you know the course is short and have to consider whether you keep running to get the distance.  Luckily for me, the times I've been in the same situation I've known I'm crashing and have no hope of a PR.

I did a long hilly run on a humid day over summer which was 28 celsius (82F) and there was no way to get drinks on the loop (except a drink I carried from the start but was gone in the first 30 mins).  I lost 7kg that day, was hating life for the last 8km when my legs started failing and I got very lightheaded...winter races are good in that it is so much less of a factor although clearly still an issue for me after 2 hours.

darkwave - Hope it was a great birthday weekend.  This new AG is going to lead to even more trophies...

Half crazy - Good work on the purchase.  Is that aimed at the peak of summer or winter?  Or both...you're in Baltimore right?

watson - Great news on the calf.  What's next for you?

mmerkle - Huge week!

Happy belated birthday Darkwave, hope you enjoyed the special one.

I know Steve is taking all the credit for the deadzone k's but isn't that actually CalBears "creation"? He used to run 20ish deadzone runs during his CIM prep.

Fred - hope the pain will subside. Great report, really enjoyed it. I wouldn't have been able to get that error out of my mind. That would have been an eternal loop of: wtf.......interesting that you didn't discuss your race plan with your son. Why didn't you? Sounds like he just needs to up his mileage to avoid the 2nd half fade (sounds just as easy as it is, in theory )